A persistent on-shore flow will keep temperatures on the chilly side in New Jersey through Thursday, before moderating to more typical late spring-like conditions by the weekend, forecasters say.

What’s known as a back-door cold front will continue to drop southwest across the region today, allowing chilly air off the colder than usual Atlantic Ocean to spill across the region Wednesday and Thursday, keeping temperatures in the 60s and lower 70s.

“Ocean waters are still fairly chilly for this time of year,” said Mitchell Gaines, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office. “That’s why temperatures are going to struggle here.”

What side of the front state towns end up on Wednesday could have a dramatic impact on temperatures. In much of eastern and northern New Jersey, where the front has passed, temperatures are only in the 50s, while in southwestern portions of the state the mercury is topping out in the mid-70s.

Cloudy conditions are expected to prevail through much of the day Thursday. A shower or a weak thunderstorm is also possible across the Garden State Wednesday as the front lurches across the region, though no storm that forms is expected to reach severe levels like what was experienced in southern New Jersey yesterday.

Severe thunderstorms pushed through the southern half of the state last night, bringing down trees in Burlington County and briefly knocking out power to more than 20,000 utility customers, primarily south of Trenton, according to data from the state’s major power companies.

As the week progresses, a high pressure system is expected to move across the eastern United States allowing temperatures to rebound to the 70s through the weekend in New Jersey under sunny skies.

Once the high pressure system passes late this weekend, Gaines said a southerly flow will take over, allowing warmer air to rush into the state from the south. By the beginning of next week, temperatures are expected to be in the 80s and the National
Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center puts New Jersey at decent odds to experience above average temperatures through the first week of June.